First Posted: May 13, 2021 11:24 PM EDT
Photo : Gabriel Aponte/Getty Images
Colombia protests that stemmed from a tax reform proposal have now entered their third week, resulting in fuel and food shortages in the city of Cali.
Known as the third-largest city of Colombia, Cali became the center of unrest as the anti-government demonstrations continue.
It can be recalled that Cali faced a surge in violence between police officers, protesters, and armed civilians in the past days. And now, three weeks into the mass protests, BBC reported that Cali faces shortages in some supplies of food and even gasoline.
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Thousands of people gathered in Bogota’s Bolivar Plaza on Wednesday.
The demonstrations, which have at times turned violent, were initially driven by outrage at the Colombian government’s now-withdrawn tax reform plan.
Now, demonstrators are demanding that police be held accountable for excessive violence used during the ongoing demonstrations and calling for the withdrawal of a proposal to further privatise the country’s healthcare system.
As many as 40 people killed in connection to the protests are being investigated by the human rights ombudsman, though the exact number remains disputed. Local and international rights groups allege the toll may be higher and have blamed the police for the violence.
(Refiles to add dropped name to byline)
Demonstrators play drums during a protest demanding government action to tackle poverty, police violence and inequalities in healthcare and education systems, in Bogota, Colombia May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
BOGOTA/CALI (Reuters) -Union members, students, pensioners and workers marched in anti-government protests around Colombia on Wednesday, as President Ivan Duque urged citizens to reject violence and stereotypes about demonstrators and police alike.
The sometimes deadly demonstrations were initially fueled in late April by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan. But protesters’ demands have expanded to include an end to police violence, economic support as the COVID-19 pandemic batters incomes, and the withdrawal of a health reform.
Slain Colombian activist becomes icon of resistance as protests, deaths mount [Los Angeles Times :: BC-COLOMBIA-ACTIVIST-KILLED:LA]
BOGOTA, Colombia – On the morning of May 5, Lucas Villa sent an audio message to a fellow student before heading off to another day of anti-government protests in Pereira, a coffee-growing hub in the Andean foothills of western Colombia.
“It is a difficult, ugly and tough moment, in which the worst can happen to anyone,” Villa told his friend, according to El Espectador newspaper. “Many of us may die, because in Colombia just to be young and be in the streets is to risk one’s life. We can all die.”